text:
Oh my, the story concerning Nevada über-lobbyist Harvey Whittemore has all the Big Names — Ensign, Ernaut, Sandoval, Reid, Heller, Berkley — and a flight of campaign donations returned. [full story Las Vegas Sun] Perhaps leading to the conclusion that Hell hath no fury like a business partner scorned?
Someone might want to tell Senator Rubio (R-FL) that he really doesn't get to have it both ways. He can't devote a full paragraph to his family's flight from Castro's Cuba [Rubio] in his Congressional biography, which is a little strange since his parents left in 1956* (and then attempted to return, or visited, or something in '61), campaign as one who "always publicly identified with the exile community and has a strong following within it. In a campaign ad last year, he said: "As the son of exiles, I understand what it means to lose the gift of freedom," [CSM] [WaPo] and then get touchy when Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) calls him out for stonewalling the confirmation of Mari Carmen Aponte as ambassador to El Salvador in order to pressure the Obama Administration into changing policy toward Cuba and Nicaragua. [LV Sun] *Fidel Castro did not take over until February 16, 1959.
The Yucca Mountain Breakdown. Another slip of the tongue from Mark Amodei (R-NV2) "While nobody wants a nuclear landfill in Nevada, we probably ought to at least talk about it," Amodei said. "Well if that is breaking ranks, then yes I did." At which point former Nevada Governor Richard Bryan came down upon the freshman representative like a ton of toxic dirt. [full story Nevada News Bureau] Just asking, but if nobody in Nevada wants it — what is the point of talking about it?
No matter how many Democrats jump on board, the cleverly named CPU Act is a bad idea. The bottom line is that enactment of this legislation would cut tech workers' pay and allow employers to cut overtime pay. [More at Economic Policy Institute]
A bankruptcy is a bankruptcy… Governor Romney is having some difficulty in Michigan with the auto bailout rhetoric. And, then's there's Bain in the mix:
"The managed bankruptcies that Romney had in mind in early 2009 for the two car companies pretty clearly were liquidations that would then allow Bain Capital or other venture capital firms to buy small parts of these companies, eliminate union workers, and … I'm not sure. A weird, incoherent ad his campaign's been running on the local news broadcasts actually hints at the elimination-of-union-workers thing, while actually advertising that "liberals" got "Obama" to save the auto industry. Seriously." [Angry Bear]
Not. So. Fast. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Club for Growth) was incensed that anyone would believe his taxation plan would require tax increases for those earning less than $200,000 annually. Except Senator Toomey's tax plan would require tax increases for those earning less than $200,000 annually.
"The math is irrefutable. Senator Toomey told O'Brien that, while reducing their deductions and credits, he also would cut tax rates for people below $200,000 so that they would face no net tax increase. But that can't be. If the tax plan is supposed to produce a net increase in revenues, and if it loses revenue from people making over $200,000, then it simply must raise revenue from people making less than $200,000." [CBPP]
Financialist Follies. John Paulson, he of the Hedge Fund Titans who helped create the Wall Street Casino, is worried about a Greek default:
"We believe a Greek payment default could be a greater shock to the system than Lehman's failure, immediately causing global economies to contract and markets to decline," the hedge fund said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News. The euro is "structurally flawed and will likely eventually unravel," it said.? [Bloomberg]
Look carefully at Paulson's terms. "Shock to the system" as in a shock to the financial markets. "Causing global economies to contract" as in investment banks particularly in France and Germany will find themselves in another bind. "Markets to decline," at this point Paulson isn't talking about the market for automobiles, homes, refrigerators, or agricultural products — the only "market" in which he is interested is the Stock Market.
In short, we might want to take a deep breath and contemplate what another self-induced panic by the Wall Street wizards might mean for credit access for American consumers and businesses. Remember: Those investment banks could have invested in plant expansion, infrastructure projects, manufacturing upgrades, or entrepreneurial enterprises — it was THEIR choice to invest in Greek debt.
Brute Force, that's how a Citigroup whistle blower described the firm's attempt to paper over its bad loans. [C&L]
"Instead of reporting the defects to the Federal Housing Administration, the bank saddled the agency with losses by falsely declaring the loans fit for its federal insurance program, according to a complaint filed yesterday by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan. Citigroup agreed to pay $158.3 million to settle the claims, and admitted that it certified loans for FHA backing that didn't qualify." [Bloomberg]
And, how was this accomplished?
"Efforts to quash negative quality-control reports about mortgages continued into 2011, according to the complaint. That January, at a quarterly staff meeting that Hunt said 1,000 people attended, CitiMortgage managers gave a "Star Players Award" to workers who had successfully challenged negative reviews during meetings with quality-assurance workers and others, according to the complaint." [Bloomberg]
The press release from the Department of Justice, USAO Southern District of NY is available here for those who want more details. (pdf)
The Urban legend of those Terrible Health Care Costs. Oops, the facts just don't fit the narrative.
"In fact, the recent trends are mildly favorable. As J. D. Keinke of the American Enterprise Institute writes today in the Wall Street Journal, the idea of runaway health spending is a "myth" because "new data show that health spending over the past several years has been normalizing toward the rate of general inflation, rather than growing higher and higher, as had been the case almost continuously since the 1970s." … [EconView]
Faux New tries and fails to get the author of the book on the Obama Administration to fill in the blanks with misinformation. Find the entertaining and illuminating video here.
WalkerGate gets more interesting as investigators are probing into the possibility of real estate bid rigging in Wisconsin while Scott Walker was Milwaukee County Executive. [BlueCheddar] [MJS 1/25] Walker has asked for two more weeks for reviewing recall petitions. [MJS] This, while a three judge federal panel excoriated Wisconsin Republican lawmakers and told them:
"…to turn over 84 documents to a group of Democrats in a blistering order that said Republicans had engaged in an "all but shameful" effort to keep its efforts hidden from the public.
The court promptly released the documents that showed, among other things, that Republicans who drew new election maps last year largely orchestrated the public testimony given in support of them.
The three federal judges – two of them appointed by Republicans – were unanimous in their decision. It came after a string of orders against the Republicans and just five days be fore the judges will preside over a trial in Milwaukee to determine whether the maps adhere to the U.S. Constitution. [MJS]
But, the saddest feature of the attacks on Wisconsin citizens and their rights is to be found in this article, including:
"Before Sunday's sermon in many churches in Milwaukee, ministers and religious leaders will ask those sitting in the pews to pull out their photo identification as a step to make sure that their members can vote in Tuesday's primary election." [MJS]


text:
My da|ra Login
Detailed view
Master Facility Inventory: Hospitals, 1976
- United States Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics
- Version 1 (Subtitle)
- United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Administration on Aging
AbstractThe Master Facility Inventory (MFI) data collection provides a comprehensive list of hospital facilities in the United States in 1976. The criteria for inclusion were that a facility provided medical, nursing, personal, or custodial care to groups of unrelated persons on an inpatient basis and was licensed or operated by federal or state agencies. The American Hospital Association conducted the survey, supplying the resulting data to the National Center for Health Statistics in order to update its Master Facility Inventory on the number and kinds of hosptals in the United States and the changes in the list since the last MFI survey. Information gathered is for the previous calendar year and includes facility identification information, ownership, number of full- and part-time staff, number of beds per unit, number of adult and pediatric inpatients, numbers in newborn nursery, outpatient utlilization (e.g., emergency care and clinics), major and minor surgical operations, hospital classification (e.g., government, non-government, investor-owned), and finances (e.g., total revenue, expenses, and assets) for 7,271 institutions.
MethodsICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection: Performed consistency checks.; Standardized missing values.; Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes..
Table of Contents
- DS1: Dataset
Time period: 1976
Collection date: 1976
(1) The data cover the period from January 1, 1975, through December 31, 1975, although another 12-month period may have been used by the facility. (2) Imputed data was entered for certain unknown items. The imputations for these items were based on the available data for the responding facilities on the MFI with the same ownership, type of service, and approximately the same bed size. Mechanical imputations were based on such critical items as the number of beds or residents in the facilities. (3) The data collection instrument is available only in hardcopy form upon request from ICPSR. (4) Superseding the Master Facilities List, the MFI has been assembled since 1967. It has been updated since that time with a continuing series of biennial surveys and with the Agency Reporting System (ARS), which has been used to update the MFI between biennial surveys. The primary purpose in adopting the ARS was to identify new facilities. These could be determined by obtaining lists from state agencies which regulate or control nearly all facilities in the MFI. In addition to state agencies, the ARS uses lists collected by health, welfare, or voluntary religious organizations, publishers of commercial directories, and federal agencies. (5) For a similar MFI survey conducted in 1976, see MASTER FACILITY INVENTORY: NURSING HOMES AND OTHER HEALTH CARE FACILITIES, 1976 (ICPSR 7631).
- 7630 (Type: ICPSR Study Number)
Update Metadata: 2015-08-05 | Issue Number: 6 | Registration Date: 2015-06-15
United States Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics (1984): Master Facility Inventory: Hospitals, 1976. Version 1. Version: v1. ICPSR - Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR07630.v1

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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text:
Haha. I like your style and sass put into this drawing.
Haha. I like your style and sass put into this drawing.
He's totally coping a feel
is he crabbing her rack
paulo's face looks like it came straight out of the Mogli Disney movie.
cute! very expressive faces I like it <3
You are just my favourite person ;_____;
The faces are amazing, seriously that Paulo expression is just tops oh my god do you have a gallery or a site or something because you draw pretty well!!!! It's so lovely and the lineart strokes are gorgeous and it looks so cartoony!!
Awwww, Paulo is just a sweetheart. Super amazing job!!
you are beautiful
I can't describe this awesomeness...
How...How do you do this?!?!
You are amazing.
sooo cool!
You are amazing.
And I love this couple.
Talent + fancied couple =
To be fair, Lucy has not been doing the close contact on Mike. She's pretty much left him be. Contrary to what is often said about her.


text:
Two pieces of casting tonight:
- Gwyneth Paltrow is in negotiations to star the adaptation of the foodie memoir Blood, Bones & Butter.
- Marton Csokas has joined the cast of Darren Aronofsky's Noah and will star in the DirecTV series Rogue.
Hit the jump for details on each project.
THR describes Blood, Bones & Butter as similar to Julie & Julia. At least that's what producers Fernando Loureiro, Rodrigo Teixeira, and Anne Carey are hoping, since Julie & Julia ended up with nearly $100 million domestic. Here's the book synopsis:
Before Gabrielle Hamilton opened her acclaimed New York restaurant Prune, she spent twenty hard-living years trying to find purpose and meaning in her life. Blood, Bones & Butter follows an unconventional journey through the many kitchens Hamilton has inhabited through the years: the rural kitchen of her childhood, where her adored mother stood over the six-burner with an oily wooden spoon in hand; the kitchens of France, Greece, and Turkey, where she was often fed by complete strangers and learned the essence of hospitality; Hamilton's own kitchen at Prune, with its many unexpected challenges; and the kitchen of her Italian mother-in-law, who serves as the link between Hamilton's idyllic past and her own future family—the result of a prickly marriage that nonetheless yields lasting dividends. By turns epic and intimate, Gabrielle Hamilton's story is told with uncommon honesty, grit, humor, and passion. [Amazon]
Deadline reports that Aronofsky has cast Csokas in a supporting role in Noah. Russell Crowe, Anthony Hopkins, Emma Watson, and Jennifer Connelly star. Here's a recent synopsis:
Noah (Crowe) hears the voice of God warning him that the world cannot be allowed to survive in the corrupted, ruined form Noah sees around him. It is a violent, freaky, scary world that Aronofsky and his co-writer Ari Handel have created. I'm particularly excited to see how Aronofsky brings to life the Watchers, eleven-foot-tall fallen angels with six arms and no wings. They have a major presence in the script, and they're fascinating. Early on, when Noah needs to go see his grandfather, he has to move through the homeland of the Watchers, something that is not easy to do.
Additionally, Csokas will star opposite Thandie Newton in the DirecTV original series Rogue. Rouge centers on "an undercover cop (Newton) who goes after a crime lord (Csokas) after her young son is killed in a drive-by shooting." Production begins next month in Vancouver for a summer 2013 premiere.


text:
The Bitmap: Hitting the Bottleneck
Throughout development, Step 5 has constantly been the bottleneck of the entire process. At the highest degree of optimization, it still visits only between 35- and 114-million edges per second per SPE. This throughput is much less than the other steps. We started with a sequential version of Step 5, which is pretty straightforward (Listing Six; available at http://www.ddj.com/code/), and we optimized it extensively, obtaining Listing Seven (available at http://www.ddj.com/code/). The result is not exactly the most readable code, but it gives you a good idea of what deeply optimized source code for the Cell looks like.
The initial code does not compile efficiently on the Cell: Only 19 registers are used out of 128, the average CPI is 2.18, no SIMD operations are used, only 3 percent of the issues are dual issues (SPEs have two separate instruction pipelines and can issue two instructions at a time, if they don't conflict), and 48.5 percent of the cycles are spent waiting in stalls, either for memory operations or for intermediate results. On the other hand, our final implementation is 3.68-times faster, it uses 82 registers, it is optimally SIMDized, has a CPI equal to 0.99, 31 percent of the issues are dual, and stalls occur in 32.9 percent of the cycles.
Code in step5() (Listing Seven) is divided in two similar portions. The first portion processes vertices owned by the local SPE, which are ready immediately because they did not need to be transferred in the all-to-all exchange. The second portion processes each incoming Qin after waiting for the associated sentinel. Since it takes more time to process a Qin (4.10 microseconds) than to transfer it (1.19 microseconds), and the first Qin does not need to be transferred, the actual total time spent waiting for sentinels is zero.
As for optimizations, we inlined functions and unrolled the loops. Both optimizations reduce branch penalties and create larger basic blocks. With larger basic blocks, the compiler can schedule the instructions more efficiently, decreasing stalls and increasing the dual issue rate.
We employ 128-bit loads and SIMD operations (the spu_xxx intrinsics in Listing Seven) wherever it is convenient. This leads to better register exploitation and lower CPI. We also issue four loads per iteration with "offset pointers"; that is, a base pointer plus a small literal offset. These are compiled as load instructions in the "d-form," which calculates the sum of a register and an immediate offset without the need for a separate address computation instruction.
We got rid of branches by using software speculation. Branches cost up to 24 cycles when predicted incorrectly. So, we set bits in the bitmap unconditionally, even when they were already set. This has no impact on the algorithm's veracity. And we queue vertex codes into Qnext even when they're not needed. Then, we advance the end pointer of the queue only if the vertex was actually added. This allows most of the code to proceed unconditionally.
We use "restrict" pointers. Normally, a sequence of multiple loads causes stalls because the compiler does not try to schedule them concurrently. In fact, this would break the C pointer semantics if the loads alias. And bitmap load/stores are responsible for more than 30 percent of the time spent in this step. To improve performance, we declare as __restrict__ the pointers to values in the bitmap, guaranteeing that no aliasing takes place and allowing the four loads to proceed in parallel. And at graph generation, we shuffle adjacency lists appropriately so that they do not cause aliasing.
In short, the Cell offers an impressive potential for performance. However, due to its architecture and limited support offered by the compiler, you can't expect to exploit this potential by just recompiling your current applications. Applications must be radically redesigned in terms of computation and data transfers. Computational bottlenecks must often be analyzed and addressed manually, and data transfers must be properly orchestrated in order to hide their latency completely under the computational delays. This work has been supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program for the Data-Intensive Computing Initiative at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DEAC0576RL01830.


text:
Some U.S. immigrants literally count the days from when they receive their green cards, waiting for the five (or in some cases, three) years to pass before they can apply for naturalized U.S. citizenship. And given all the benefits that come with U.S. citizenship — easier travel in and out of the U.S., ability to sponsor a wider group of family members for a green card, access to government jobs, and so on — this is widely assumed to be the sensible approach for anyone planning to live permanently in the United States.
As pointed out in a recent article in The New York Times, however, called "Making Choice to Halt at Door of Citizenship" (by Kirk Semple), that's not how many immigrants see the matter. Many are content with a green card alone — even if they fully qualify for citizenship and would be permitted dual citizenship in their home country — for reasons that include:
- national identity — they want to retain a tie to their home country and don't necessarily "feel" American
- trauma — the process of dealing with U.S. government officials the first time around is more than they want to face again (don't laugh, it can be a hellishly difficult bureaucracy to deal with)
- the $680 application fee
- the perception that they already have nearly all the same rights as U.S. citizens, including the right to work in the U.S.
- dissatisfaction with U.S. government or its foreign policy
- the "cool" factor — a U.S. passport seems less glamorous than it once did, and finally
- inertia — they just haven't gotten around to applying.
This is, of course, a personal decision, and nothing in the law requires green card holders to apply for U.S. citizenship. For the people dealing with "inertia," however, I offer just one phrase: "Change of address requirement."
If you're having trouble getting it together to apply for U.S. citizenship, might you also fail to do as required — or have you already failed in this required task — and advise the U.S. government within ten days of every time you move to a new address? It sounds trivial, but messing this one up is a deportable offense. For real. See the articles on the "After Getting Your Green Card: How to Keep It" page of Nolo's website for details.
Me, I'd pay the fee, deal with the symbolic significance, and lower my cool factor just to know I couldn't be deported on grounds as seemingly minor as these. (And the change of address notice is just one item on the list of grounds of deportability . . . . )


text:
MySpace is testing what it calls a new advertising platform designed to let marketers build and manage profiles for their brands in the social-networking site, the News Corp. unit said Monday.
While MySpace already allowed marketers to promote their brands via profiles, it so far has handled the creation and updating of these profiles.
Now, with the new Community Builder platform, marketers will have more control over these profiles so that they can update the content and features in them without the involvement of MySpace.
With these custom profiles, which are similar in format and concept to the profiles that individuals create for themselves, companies can promote their products and services among MySpace members and track their effectiveness.
Members can visit these brand profiles and add them to their list of MySpace "friends." Members can also interact with features in the profiles, such as playing back videos, listening to songs and participating in sweepstakes.
Marketers will also have access to usage analytics and be able to see how many page views and unique visitors their profiles have attracted, as well as how much time members spend in them.
The platform is now in a closed beta and limited to US advertisers.
MySpace will offer two options to advertisers, although both provide marketers around-the-clock access to update the profiles' content and to view usage metrics.
One option, called Self-Service, is for advertisers who have experience with the MySpace system and have "advanced coding skills" and the "time and resources" to maintain a profile by themselves, MySpace said.
The Full-Service option is for advertisers who want to entrust the design and creation of a profile to MySpace.
Social-networking providers like MySpace and Facebook are trying to find new ways to generate more advertising revenue from their massive popularity. While they use conventional online advertising formats, like pay-per-click ads and banner ads, social-networking providers have found that they need new approaches to properly engage their members with advertising. Some attempts, like Facebook's Beacon ad program, have backfired, while others have fizzled.
On the other side of the equation, advertisers are often concerned about having their ads appear along with content created by millions of social-network members, since this content is largely unregulated and can be in bad taste or even illegal.


text:
The FlexAir Body Protector incorporates safety, flexibility and breathability. A feather-light feel, featuring an antibacterial lining. Standard EN 13158 2009 Beta standard level 3, 2018
Weight: 2 kg
Please Log in first to post your review.
An incredibly flexible segmented style body protector, featuring Heavy duty YKK zips, military grade outer mesh, ultra lightweight foam and cool feel titanium coloured inner lining. Side lacing for an exacting, tailored feel fit.
The New Flexion range has been designed to follow the shape of the torso and should therefore fit close to the body to provide the best performance.
This body protector conforms to the BETA Level 3 2009 standard.
The Airowear AyrVest is a stylish, softshell gilet with a concealed, nylon-encased air system.
BETA 2009 Level 3 protection and is certified to M38 2015 Satra air vest standard.
Our financial director checking the inbox! Have a great weekend and hope it stops raining! https://t.co/Z4AYk1YzHH
Sometimes my horse has that "Friday Feeling" .... mucking out ain't easy while he's snoring! https://t.co/TYNtgKEubY
How is that for ultra-cool bling! The new Uvex Suxxeed Glamour in blue. And for International Helmet Awareness Day,… https://t.co/YeFr7sgXco
Best of luck to England tonight! @ Riding Habit Eastry Kent https://t.co/VXrRhsL7TE
Help protect your horse with our great range of boots and wraps! #protectyourpony #theridinghabiteastry @ Riding Ha… https://t.co/jSVXmzgtI2
Welcome to the Riding Habit. We have re-located to St Nicholas at Wade near Birchington, Kent.
Our aim is to provide high quality, affiordable products for you, and your horse or pony.
Our qualified, knowledgeable and friendly staff are happy to fit you for riding hats, body protectors, air vests and boots.
We have a wide range of horse feed and a selection of poultry feed also.
We ride and use the products we stock so that we can pass on qualified opinions on products, supplements and feed.
Come in for a chat and a browse…
Lucia and Jamie.
Copyright © 2015 The Riding Habit. All Rights Reserved.Web Design by Orcus. Powered by Myriad EPoS.


text:
TMC offers comprehensive management of business mileages, private mileages and fuel spend to deliver fuel cost savings and Revenue compliant private fuel deductions. TMC integrates TomTom LINK mileage and trip data with fuel information to provide comprehensive and HMRC compliant fuel management and private fuel deductions to dramatically reduce fleet fuel costs.
TMC is Europe's leading Mileage Audit and Fuel Expense Management specialist. Our award-winning, online systems ensure that business journeys, commuting and private mileage are processed accurately.


text:
Nobody's Email: Governor LaPage's Suggestions..
Nobody Gets Email
Here's one I got last week. It's about a no-nonsense governor of Maine, Paul LaPage, who Nobody wishes would got more media time.
(Thanks to Tom Beebe)
I really love this one.
This is one of the better e-mails I have received in a long time! I hope this makes its way around the USA several times over!!!!! HERE IS WHAT Governor LaPage said:
"THE LAW IS THE LAW So "if" the US government determines that it is against the law for the words "under God" to be on our money, then, so be it. And "if" that same government decides that the "Ten Commandments" are not to be used in or on a government installation, then, so be it. I say, "so be it," because I would like to be a law abiding US citizen I say, "so be it," because I would like to think that smarter people than I are in positions to make good decisions. I would like to think that those people have the American public's best interests at heart.
BUT, he said, "YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I'D LIKE? Since we can't pray to God, can't Trust in God and cannot post His Commandments in Government buildings, I don't believe Government (Federal, State and Local) and its employees should participate in Easter and Christmas celebrations which honor the God that our government is eliminating from many facets of American life.
I'd like my mail delivered on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving & Easter. After all, it's just another day. I'd like the" US Supreme Court to be in session on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving & Easter as well as Sundays." After all, it's just another day.
I'd like the Senate and the House of Representatives to not have to worry about getting home for the "Christmas Break." After all it's just another day.
I'm thinking a lot of my taxpayer dollars could be saved, if all government offices & services would work on Christmas, Good Friday & Easter.
It shouldn't cost any overtime since those would be just like any other day of the week to a government that is trying to be "politically correct."
In fact…. I think our government should work on Sundays (initially set aside for worshipping God….) because, after all, our government says that it should be just another day…." What do you all think????
If this idea gets to enough people, maybe our elected officials will stop giving in to the "minority opinions" and begin, once again, to represent the "majority" of ALL of the American people. SO BE IT……….. Please Dear Lord, Give us the help needed to keep you in our country! 'Amen' and 'Amen' Touché!
If this gets around the country a few times, perhaps we will see a better day!


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"Imagine a nontransitive community in which, for convenience, we call the players Rock, Paper, and Scissors." It's a rather unusual line to find in a scientific paper, but the study it comes from is part of a special edition of PNAS on the evolution of social behavior. And rock-paper-scissors is not only a good way to settle an impasse; it provides a way of understanding a biological phenomenon that has been termed "survival of the weakest."
To understand this phenomenon, you have to understand what a non-transitive community is. The easiest way to understand this is to examine the three different types of bacteria used in the experiments described in the paper. One of them produces a protein, colicin, that's toxic to other cells; it also makes a set of proteins that allow it to survive the toxins it makes. Producing all these proteins exacts an energetic cost, so these bacteria can be outcompeted by cells that don't face the same burden.
A second strain has mutations that eliminate the proteins colicin binds to. This is a big help if the first strain is around, but these proteins perform helpful functions, so these cells can also be outcompeted by healthy, wild-type cells. And those healthy, wild-type cells are the final strain involved. The result of mixing all three is a rock-paper-scissors like situation, with each strain growing better when faced with competition from only one other. So, the resistant strain will outcompete the toxin-producer, which will kill the wild type cells, which will in turn outcompete the resistant one.
What happens when you throw them all together? That's where the survival of the weakest comes in. If one of the strains of bacterial successfully wipes out the one it grows better than, then it will be left with nothing but the third choice—which necessarily will grow better than it can. So, the selective pressure ends up favoring strains that don't effectively wipe out any competition they can; instead, it favors the evolution of restraint. As the authors phrase it:
Next, imagine a less-restrained variant of Rock, called Rock*, that displaces Scissors at a faster rate. In a Rock*-Paper- Scissors community, the abundance of Scissors decreases because of the increased prowess of Rock*. As a consequence, Scissors' victim (Paper) is liberated, which can displace Rock*. In an ironic twist, the improved Rock* decreases in abundance because of the expansion of its victim's victim.
Survival of the weakest has been in the literature for at least a decade, and a variety of species have been identified that exhibit this sort of three-factor transitive relationship. But does it actually promote survival of the weakest? So far, experimental support has been lacking, and that's something the authors have set out to provide.
To run their tests, they set up bacteria in 96-well plates, so that each plate contained nearly 100 different ecological communities. Each community was allowed to grow for 12 hours, after which they were transplanted to new growing media. In a control test, each strain of bacteria was simply propagated on its own. In one experimental conditions, all three populations of bacteria were mixed during each transfer. In the final experiment, mixing occurred only among neighboring wells, which should reflect ecosystems where migration is physically constrained.
After dozens of transfers, no single strain came out on top. There was a consistent bias towards the resistant strain, and the toxin producers generally tended to do the worse, but the ecosystem seemed to stably maintain each of the tree strains. After the transfers were done, the authors obtained cells from the resistant strain and tested their growth. Cells grown on their own, with no competition, grew the fastest after the experiment was done. Those that had undergone transfer throughout the ecosystem grew a bit slower, and the ones that had been transferred locally grew more slowly still.
This is exactly what you'd predict from a survival of the weakest perspective. The cells that were transferred locally had evolved to adjust to their fellow players in the rock-paper-scissors game—to grow a bit more slowly so that they wouldn't crowd out their fellow strains. Those that were transferred globally might not be so finely attuned to their fellow players, and so grew at an intermediate rate. The authors performed a series of experiments to test whether other explanations might account for this slow growth, but all of them indicate that the bacteria must be grown in a competitive environment for this deceleration to evolve.
To an extent, the authors argue, the rock-paper-scissors ecology has forced a sort of altruism—delayed growth for the good of the community—for purely selfish reasons. They also note that the transitive competitions that have been described in the natural world take place in areas of behavior, like mating strategies, so it's possible that this sort of competition has driven the evolution of more complex social interactions. So it might be possible to expand the study to something even more complex than bacteria.
I also look forward to this work being expanded so that bacteria can model rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock.
PNAS, 2011. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1100296108 (About DOIs).
Listing image by Image: University of Arkansas


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Posts tagged 'LDR'
Question: Why did Grandpa Cross the Border?
Answer: To see his grandkids on the other side!
When you think about it, the term 'long distance love' typically conjures up images of romantic couples, planes, and a slew of images that involve lots of hugging and jumping into a loved ones arms. Yet those aren't the only relationships that long distance love encompasses. Think about all the people that are near and dear to you: your best friend in Dubai, your brother 'working' in Brazil, your 85-year-old grandma who always knows what to say in a time of crisis. Those are the people we love from afar. Read on and you'll find that you are also part of the long distance love community – you just didn't know it!
Parents + Children
It's been said time and time again, 'they grow up so fast'. From the first time you drop them off at pre-school to their first trip abroad on their own, long distance love between parents and their children is inevitable. Care packages with chocolate chip cookies and warm socks for your son at college, bedtime Skype dates with your 3-year-old daughter when you are traveling for work, phone calls to review the latest episode of Glee with your 13-year-old daughter who lives with her mother 400 miles away…that's all part of long distance love.
Grandparents + Grandkids
Approximately 80 million grandparents live in North America. And of that 80 million, 24 million (that's 30%!) live a long distance from their grandchildren. Most people don't really think of living far away from grandpa and grandma as a long distance love, but just ask yourself this as you spend your Saturday morning on the phone teaching your mom how to text, or as you are packing up 3 kids under 5 for a 6-hour plane ride to the other side of the country – would you be doing this if it weren't true love?! However you choose to keep that love alive, it's a special relationship and one that if nurtured, has a multitude of benefits for kids, parents and grandparents.
Married Couples + Couples
Are you and your partner miles apart? Did you at one point live on opposite ends of the country, or even the world with your now husband or wife? If so, you're not alone. According to The Centre for the Study of Long Distance Relationships, 75% of all engaged couples were at one point long distance in their relationship. So when your honey has to travel for work, or is going to school in a different country, or is off fighting for your country, you become a part of the long distance love community. Embrace it, it's kind of how the world works now. And because for most it seems to be worth it in the end!
Friends + Family
Your best friend just got promoted and now lives in New York, you're in Toronto. Your old college roommate is throwing her bachelorette and the only way you can see her in the silly school girl costume she is being forced to wear is via Skype. You wake up to 3 missed calls from your younger, thrill-seeking cousin who called to tell you he's just surfed the largest wave ever in Australia. The list goes on. With the constant contact via text and on Facebook these days, sometimes we don't even remember that our friends are far away geographically until we attempt to contact them the old fashioned way, the phone. It's when you hear the voice 'Long distance charges will apply.' that you remember. Oops! End call.
When it comes to the people we love and how often we see, speak, or get a chance to hug them, the reality is that everyone just isn't as physically close as they used to be. Your lives get busier, people get relocated to exotic locations, and that dream you've always had to travel with your job becomes a reality. Long distance love is a part of all of us, be it through your friends, your other half, or your little girl who bought her first apartment 3 hours away from home. Luckily, with a little help from technology (and frequent flyer miles!) we don't always have to feel as far away as we are!


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Microsoft held its annual shareholder meeting this morning and while we're sure it was exhilarating to hear CEO Steve Ballmer rattle off cash flow figures, there were some interesting tidbits to pick up.
Notably, Ballmer told the gathered group that Windows Phone 8, though young, is already helping the Softies sell four times as many phones as it did this time last year.
What Ballmer didn't specify was exact figures - something we've been lacking from the company in general when it comes to its new Windows 8 platform and the hardware packing it.
We learned Tuesday that Microsoft managed to sell 40 million Windows 8 licenses since the OS's debut Oct. 26, but other than that, the numbers for devices like the Surface tablet are missing.
Ballmer also reported that the number of Windows 8 PCs has grown to 1,500, with new devices scheduled to go on sale "in the coming weeks."
He claimed that the Windows Phone Store has more than 120,000 apps and that soon the company will hold 46 of the top 50 apps people use.
Windows 8 is apparently also outpacing Windows 7 upgrades and with all the mud being slung at W8 from nearly every angle, it's good to hear some positive news coming out of Redmond.


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(Phoenix, Ariz. – March 9, 2006) Attorney General Terry Goddard today announced the indictments of eight members of a human smuggling organization following their arrests last weekend in Mesa.
The State Grand Jury indicted Andreas Aguilar Sanchez, 30; Miguel Gomez, 22; Rodriguez Browlio Alvarado, 25 ; Maria Lopez, 25; Adolfo Gomez-Lopez, 24; Roberto Santis-Lopez 32; and Reyna Aguilar-Hernandez, 19, on charges of human smuggling, conspiracy, fraud, assisting a criminal syndicate, illegally conducting an enterprise and money laundering. An eighth defendant was indicted but has not yet been served with court documents.
Santis-Lopez was also charged with participating in a criminal syndicate, aggravated assault on a police officer and resisting arrest.
The indictment alleges that the defendants engaged in human smuggling between March 2004 and March 2006. The organization allegedly charged about $1,800 per person. When the defendants were arrested over the weekend of March 3, more than 60 undocumented immigrants were detained. The immigrants were released to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be processed for deportation.
The defendants will be arraigned in Maricopa County Superior Court on March 17. If convicted of all charges, all defendants except Santis-Lopez each face up to 41.25 years in prison. If convicted of all charges, Santis-Lopez faces up to 60.75 years in prison. Assistant Attorney General Theodore Campagnolo is prosecuting this case.


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In August I got an early chance to play the latest installment of Skylanders on a PlayStation 4. I thought it was just the prettiest thing ever. After reviewing the game on the PS3, I thought I might have just been seeing things. Nope. So much better.
The difference, which might not show up quite as well on video as it does in person, is pretty much night and day. The PlayStation 4 version is crisp and clean and clear, running a smooth 1080p at 60 frames-per-second. The PS3 version is 720p and quite a bit muddier when seen side-by-side.
I said there was no going back, and I was right. If you're planning on grabbing a copy of Skylanders: Swap Force for the holidays, you might want to consider picking up a PlayStation 4 as well. It's not like you wouldn't just spend the money on toys anyway.


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A collection of scholarly works about individual liberty and free markets. A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.
The Works of John Robinson, Pastor of the Pilgrim Fathers, with a Memoir and Annotations by Robert Ashton, 3 vols (London: John Snow, 1851). https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/1737,
A 3 volume collection of this influential English Puritan minister's writings, including his A Justification of Separation from the Church of England.
The text is in the public domain.
This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit.


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EHS Community Involvement
CMC is actively involved in supporting the local communities in helping to protect the environment and to support those in need. Hundreds of hours are donated each year by CMC employees from all over the world to make a difference.
Our employees are actively involved in supporting local agencies like the American Red Cross and United Way. We walk the streets, playgrounds, parks and our work areas to pick up trash and offer programs for our families to help recycle home waste, such as spent batteries, old running shoes and aluminum products.
Each year thousands of pounds are recycled with the help of our volunteers, supporting their local communities in an effort to protect and clean the global environment.


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Home > News & Events > Wayland Press Release Archives > 2003 News Releases > March 2003 > Wayland officials recommend freeze in tuition rate
Wayland officials recommend freeze in tuition rate
PLAINVIEW - Administrators at Wayland Baptist University will recommend to its governing board that tuition on the Plainview campus be frozen for the coming academic year.
Traditionally, tuition has risen by about $10 each year, but administrators felt this year should be different.
"It really came from the economic and geographic context of this campus," said Dr. Paul Armes, president. "We live in an area that has faced more than its share of economic struggles in recent years, and our recommendation reflected consideration of that."
The board of trustees will meet March 27 in Plainview to discuss the freeze and other business matters. Armes said he is fairly confident the recommendation will be adopted, in keeping with the usual pattern of board approvals.
Tuition for the Plainview campus, a traditional residential campus with the usual student services and activities, currently is $270 per credit hour for undergraduate students and $275 for graduate students. The freeze would hold that rate in place for at least another academic year.
Estimated costs for a semester at Wayland, including books - based on a student being enrolled in 12 semester hours, living in a median-priced, shared dormitory room and carrying a meal plan with 15 meals per week - is $5,542.20. Those costs include a general fee applicable to students enrolled in more than seven credit hours, which covers admission to athletic events and extracurricular activities, health services, library usage, student newspaper and yearbook, access to the Plainview YMCA and parking permits.
Armes said those rates are very competitive with other faith-based institutions as well as public colleges and universities.
"If you compare our tuition to other Baptist schools, we are the least expensive in Texas and the third least expensive among schools in the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities," Armes said, noting that the CCCU comprises 105 religiously affiliated schools across the nation.
Officials will also recommend a $10 per credit hour increase at Wayland's external campuses, the first raise for those sites in three years. The approved increase would bring tuition to $140 per hour for undergraduate work and $165 per hour for graduate courses. Wayland has campuses in Lubbock, Amarillo, Wichita Falls and San Antonio, Texas, as well as in New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, Oklahoma and Hawaii. Those campuses primarily cater to an adult population working toward degrees while employed, with classes offered in the evenings and on weekends.


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You can find the small tablet gravestone of Ira Hall (b. 1845, d. 1846) near the fence that separates Williamsville Cemetery from the growth of the surrounding suburb. (Until recently, the cemetery was nearly hidden from view by trees and other natural growth. Now there are new homes and new shops in place of fields and woods.)
Jason & Climena A.
died June 5, 1846
Æ 10 Mo's 27 D's
The epitaph is unique, personal—and somewhat difficult to read. Luckily, there is an 1948 transcription of the gravestone on FindAGrave.com to sanity-check my reading.
The last two words are not legible to me, but in 1948 they were thought to be fait? tree. Maybe fair tree?
ther I was left,
When 10 Mo's old I sunk in death
My little spirit soared away,
To embrace my mother by
lifes f___ ____
Climena A. Hall (d. 1845) is buried nearby.
Williamsville Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio


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With Graduation season looming upon us I thought it best to devote
this months Project Class to a Graduation Theme
I am so thankful to have a wonderful, supportive up line.
These are ideas that Glenda shared with us and encourages
us to use whatever we need to enhance our classes.
Here are the details:
Monday, May 14, 7:00 PM
Wednesday, May 16, 10:00 AM
Christi's Craft Room!
Cost: $12.00
and don't forget to bring your own adhesive to help keep the cost of your class down.
You will be making the items shown in the photo.
One Card, One Gift Card and Two Treat Boxes
You will also learn how to make the little tassels you see on the Grad Caps.
Contact me soon to reserve a place at my craft table!
Thanks For Stopping By!
Have a Blessed Day!!
ChristiPin It Now!


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Community support is the foundation of community radio. Without it, we cannot bring you any programming. Although most of us are volunteers, just being on the air incurs quite a few fixed costs. There's rent, the telephone link to the antenna, the internet hosting and streaming and electricity. Those are the basics. Without these, the station will close.
On top of those fixed expenses, there are project and equipment expenses. Producing quality programs requires the necessary equipment. There are computers, monitors, a proper radio mixing deck, microphones, recording equipment and the list goes on.
Please help us make community radio a success in the Rogue Valley. All contributions are securely handled by PayPal, one of the pioneers in online payment processing. If you would like to make an in-kind contribution, please contact the station at 541-482-3999.
Thank you.
Become a Supporter for $50.
Join our Microphone Club for $75.
Join our Transmitter Club for $100.
Join our Antenna Club for $250.
Join our Tower Club for $500.
Join our Windmill Club for $1000.
Regular monthly support is particularly helpful way to support KSKQ. Please consider joining the automatic support levels outlined below. Each months payment will automatically be deducted from your account/credit card. The entire process is securely handled through PayPal.
Join our Studio Club for $10/month
Join our DJ Club for $25/month


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Compare cheap flights to Dominica
Dominica is an island country in the Caribbean located between the North Atlantic and Caribbean Sea. The place is called The Nature Island of the Caribbean because of its luscious and breath-taking flora and fauna, mountain ranges and volcanic peaks with lava craters. This is truly one of the places you should include in your bucket list.
Boiling Lake
The Boiling Lake is one of the most visited tourist attractions on the Dominica. It is the 2nd largest hot spring and thermally active lake in the world. The Boiling Lake is one of the many attractions in Morne Trois Pitons National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Snorkeling in Champagne
Champagne is famously known as the snorkeling spot in the island of Dominica. You can see stream of bubbles in this area because of the volcanic vents released underneath which makes it look like a big glass of champagne.
It is never too late to witness Dominica's wonders. Book your flights now with Skiddoo.


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Pair of Large Mugs made to order
These large mugs will hold 16 oz of your coffee or tea! These mugs are a customer favorite. Please allow 2-4 weeks for completion and for me to ship to you.
Customize your mug colors! Choose your favorite colors from the glaze combination pull down menu (the first color is the one that will be on the top). If you want the second mug to be a different glaze combination, contact me and I'll make that happen for you.
Please note: This is handmade work. This means that my measurements can be off by 1/4" or so, even though I am pretty accurate. Sometimes the colors vary in person than portrayed on your screen, or they vary with glaze calculations or kiln temperament. This all adds to the beauty of the pottery you are buying. Dishwasher and microwave safe.
If you have previously purchased pottery from me in the past, please appreciate that this is handmade, and sometimes my glazes do not make perfect matches. For example, a blue or green from 2-4 years ago, may seem darker, or lighter. This is all dependent on the glaze components that I use for my glazes. The distributers may source materials from different areas, thus producing slight changes.


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Official Group
As previewed by Innovate UK in its 2016/2017 Delivery Plan, a second Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (C-CAV) competition is scheduled for later this year.
The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) – a joint policy unit of the Department for Transport, and the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) – is working with Innovate UK to develop the scope of this competition, that is being funded from the BIS £100 million intelligent mobility fund.
To help ensure this competition takes full account of the requirements of UK industry, the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) will be running three stakeholder workshops in the second half of June, timed to canvass a broad range of expert views.
As well as providing an opportunity for influencing and fine-tuning of the competition, these workshops could well prove of value for attendees as an early chance to begin potential consortia building.
Each workshop will be of similar format (details to be published nearer the time) so don't worry if you can't attend one, you're more than welcome to attend another date.
CCAV welcomes input from attendees from diverse industry sectors that could touch upon vehicle autonomy. This could include (not a full list): OEMs, design, digital, gaming, creative industries, navigation, communications (mobile, V2V, V2I), industrial mathematics, ICT, semi-conductor design, materials, Internet of Things (IoT), image processing, sensors (cameras, Lidar etc ), computer vision, optics, electronics, bad weather operations, environmental and sustainability, and perhaps more...
Other relevant areas of expertise from whom views are welcome include: user behaviour & acceptance, HMI, System Integrators, cyber security, mobility as a service, new business models, standards and insurance.
Industry views relevant to all types of vehicles, such as for cars, buses, freight, and coaches, are also most welcome to express their interest in attending.
To register interest in participating to shape the scope of this competition, please sign up on the Eventbrite form linked from your preferred event below. We will confirm your place at each event at least one week prior to each event.
- Thursday 16 June 2016, Transport Systems Catapult, Milton Keynes
- Thursday 23 June 2016, Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) Coventry
- Tuesday 28 June 2016, BIS, London
Spaces are limited, and registration will close approximately 2 weeks prior to each event.
Looking further ahead, we will publicise news of consortia building activities, potentially to take place in July – so keep an eye out for forthcoming announcements.


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Keep Liberty Beautiful Director Sara Ann Swida hates to see Christmas end and gets sad when the Christmas decorations come down.
There comes a time, however, when you have to undeck the halls and "Bring One for the Chipper," she said, referring to the Liberty County-Fort Stewart cooperative effort to recycle Christmas trees.
Swida said live trees still have value after the holidays. With all the lights and ornaments removed, the trees can be recycled to make mulch or enhance fish habitat in ponds and lakes.
Residents can turn in trees at one of more than a dozen Liberty County locations or on Jan. 11 at the Liberty County Health Department and get free seedlings provided by the Georgia Forestry Commission and Brewers Christmas Tree Farm.
Swida said "Bring One For the Chipper" is a statewide effort led by Keep Georgia Beautiful that began more than 20 years ago. Locally, the event is sponsored by Keep Liberty Beautiful, Fort Stewart, Georgia Power, the Georgia Forestry Commission and Brewer's Christmas Tree Farm.
According to Fort Stewart Public Affairs spokeswoman Dina McKain, trees will be collected at the main Post Exchange from through Jan. 11. They will be used as fish habitat throughout the installation or provided for mulch on post or in Liberty County, she said.
"According to our Fish and Wildlife Branch, the Christmas trees are used as fish attracters that enhance spawning and feeding habitat," McKain said. "They also increase potential cover for fish. The trees are replaced in installation ponds every year."
Swida said the trees collected at county drop-off sites are available to pond owners. She said from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Jan. 11, Chipper the mascot will be at the chipper mulch site operated by Georgia Power in the health-department parking lot at 1113 E. Oglethorpe Highway in Flemington.
Those who deliver their trees unbound and undecorated there on mulch day will receive free tree seedlings, she said.
"We often have student groups like the local 4-H and other volunteers, who help provide manpower as we accept trees from local citizens," Swida said.
For more information, call KLB at 880-4888 or go to www.keeplibertybeautiful.org.
Keep Liberty Beautiful Director Sara Ann Swida hates to see Christmas end and gets sad when the Christmas decorations come down.


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By Carol Pierson Holding
The U.S. consumer society is built on a slew of deeply imbedded cultural norms, from keeping up with the Joneses to the idea that shopping makes you feel better to President George W. Bush's exhortation after 9/11 that shopping is patriotic. So it is puzzling that, despite the fact that the U.S. has technically been out of a recession since June of 2009, consumer spending continues to lag.
This stall in consuming is blamed for the worsening economic lethargy, with consumer confidence considered a key indicator. That indicator is trending towards a possible double dip recession.
Ben Bernanke addressed this phenomenon in his speech last week in Minneapolis. Part of his explanation for why the recovery has stalled was that "Even taking into account the many financial pressures that Americans face, households seem exceptionally cautious." He's right: Based on historical models, people should be spending more. The New York Times' Binyamin Appelbaum posits a reason for consumer bleakness: "Americans collectively are suffering from what amounts to an economic version of post-traumatic stress disorder."
Yes, the economic collapse was a traumatic event. And it's true that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can take years to heal. Some never heal. Often the sufferer avoids anything that reminds him of the trauma. In this case, they might not want to spend money for fear of reliving the experience. Or they might numb themselves to ward off the high they used to get from shopping.
My own experience, living in New York when Lehman collapsed, supports the societal PTSD diagnosis. The day after the market fell over 900 points, I passed a workman unloading his truck and heard him call out to a friend "It's Armageddon" -- the same epitaph printed in huge font on the front page of New York's premier tabloid, The Daily News. I certainly experienced trauma, eventually leaving the city I could no longer afford and closing my business.
But that's not the reason that, years later, my fellow citizens and I are still not spending. Now, I believe we have to consider another mental state: Recovery from addiction.
My retreat from spending started long after the collapse happened. At first, as many Americans did, I continued to spend as I always had, using borrowed money. Whenever and however we decide to stop, we experience withdrawal symptoms: Anxiety, restlessness, irritability, insomnia, headaches, poor concentration, depression and social isolation. We might "slip" many times during this stage into the old, dangerous behavior, even after we have repudiated it.
An addict recovers finally by separating him or herself from the people, places and things that tempt. I believe our entire culture, now in recovery, is turning away from the lure of spending, substituting activities that are free and people who don't need to spend to enjoy life. Instead of going out to restaurants with clients, we are cooking at home and eating with family and friends. Malls are emptying and parks and campgrounds are filling up. Some unemployed may not be looking for work anymore because they have found a cheaper way to live that enables them to do more fulfilling work, despite the loss of pay.
Many Americans are souring on the economy, but there is definitely a silver lining. As long as we allow our mental state to be defined in purely economic terms -- a "depression" means we are all depressed, a fall in consumer confidence translates to a loss of confidence in ourselves -- we ignore important things, like good work and the inspiration of the outdoors.
Yes there are still those who believe every American has an obligation to make as much money as possible. Hopefully, they will evolve before the depression hits them too. Even the metrics are changing: The move to replace Gross Domestic Product as a measure of America's prosperity with some other non-economic measure has evolved from an impractical dream closer to reality. This January, Forbes ran an article titled The World's Happiest Countries.
I believe we're largely over our collective PSTD and deep into our recovery from addiction. The economy might stink, but the future looks bright. To paraphrase the pop song, it used to be about getting what you want, now it's wanting what you've got. And that's what recovery is all about isn't it -- feeling stimulated without artificial stimulants?
Carol Pierson Holding writes on environmental issues and social responsibility for policy and news publications, including the Carnegie Council's Policy Innovations, Harvard Business Review, San Francisco Chronicle, India Times, and many websites. Her articles on corporate social responsibility can be found at CSRHUB.com, a website that provides sustainability ratings data on 5,000 companies worldwide. Carol holds degrees from Smith College and Harvard University.


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(CNN) — The strongest earthquake in 25 years struck Northern California early Sunday, injuring more than 100 people, damaging historic buildings in downtown Napa and turning fireplaces into rubble.
The 6.0-magnitude quake struck just six miles southwest of Napa, California's famed wine country.
All but six of the injured were treated and released from the emergency room at Queen of the Valley Hospital, said its president, Walt Mickens. They mostly suffered bruises and lacerations, he said.
Six patients sustained critical injures, including a young child, Mickens said.
The child was hurt when a fireplace collapsed and has been airlifted to UC Davis Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Vanessa deGier told CNN.
Only one patient is still in critical condition, said Walt Mickens, the president and CEO of Queen of the Valley Medical Center.
Mickens said that 172 people have been seen by the hospital's emergency room, though he could not confirm that all of those seeking treatment had injuries resulting from the earthquake.
"Everything and everyone in Napa was affected by the quake. My house, along with everybody else's, is a disaster. It looks like somebody broke in and ravaged the place, room by room." said CNN iReporter Malissa Koven, who was awakened by the shaking at about 3:20 a.m.
"Anything and everything that could fall, did," she said.
The damage in Napa is "fairly significant," said Glenn Pomeroy, the CEO of the California Earthquake Authority, who surveyed the area Sunday afternoon.
"The downtown area is hardest hit, probably because of the age of construction down there," Pomeroy said. In the residential areas, he is "seeing a lot of chimneys that've come crashing down."
In historic downtown Napa, the bricks and beams that once made up buildings' facades lay splayed in the street. Shattered glassware covered the floor of a local restaurant. One home had visible charring from a fire that occurred in the aftermath of the quake.
"The post office building had cracked, the local hardware store was destroyed with layers of shelves that had fallen over and busted the windows, multiple buildings had fallen apart, and all the local businesses looked trashed on the inside and out," Koven said.
However, the damage "is not as bad as it could have been," Mark Ghilarducci, the director of the California Office of Emergency Services, said at a news conference Sunday. Ninety to 100 homes are not safe to enter, according to Ghilarducci.
To help with the recovery Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency.
"We're here for the long run," Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom told CNN. "Not just when we're putting out fires — literally."
The earthquake triggered six major fires that completely destroyed several mobile homes, said Napa Division Fire Chief John Callanan. The city has set up a shelter for those who need a place to stay.
People phoned in more than 100 reports of gas leaks and downed power lines, according to Napa city officials.
Some historic buildings in downtown Napa showed extensive damage and at least 15,000 customers in and around Sonoma, Napa and Santa Rosa lost power, according to Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
City officials counted at least 60 minor water main breaks and leaks, and 20 of those lines have been shut off, according to Napa public works director Jack Rochelle.
"None of our larger transmission mains appear to have been damaged. That is really good news," Rochelle said.
He said it might take up to a week to get the water system back to normal. The water that is still flowing is safe to drink, he said.
School has been canceled in Napa on Monday to give officials time to clean up and review their school buildings to make sure they are safe, said Napa Valley Unified Schools Superintendent Patrick Sweeney.
How did it feel?
Sunday's earthquake struck four miles northwest of American Canyon, six miles southwest of Napa and nine miles southeast of Sonoma, according to the USGS.
The USGS estimated that based on their locations, 15,000 people experienced severe shaking, 106,000 people felt very strong shaking, 176,000 felt strong shaking and 738,000 felt moderate shaking.
For those in Napa, close to the epicenter, the quake jolted downtown residents such as Karen Lynch.
"It was not like other quakes we have felt," Lynch told CNN. "This was a violent quake."
Although the quake has not resulted in any casualties so far, many residents were surprised by how strong it was.
"Honestly it felt much worse than the '89 earthquake," CNN iReporter Garret Gauer said. "The refrigerator relocated itself to the other side of the kitchen"
Farther south of the epicenter in San Francisco, CNN producer Augie Martin felt the quake differently.
"It was a fairly good shake, about 25 or 30 seconds. It was a softer rolling type earthquake " he said.
The quake struck about 7 miles deep and was considered "strong" by the USGS. Major quakes start at a 7.0 magnitude, according to the USGS scale.
The economic loss caused by the quake is likely to be more than a billion dollars, according to USGS pager data.
Wine country hit
"I've got a lot of broken wine, being here in Napa," said Emily Massimi, who was woken up by the quake. "We tend to collect wine, so I have wine all over my kitchen, and glass, and pictures off the wall and books off of bookshelves," she told CNN.
At Silver Oak Winery, owner David Duncan spent the morning cleaning up hundreds of broken wine bottles that fell off the shelves.
"Those bottles were very unique," he said. They were part of his private collection and worth hundreds of dollars. Duncan said he plans to open the winery today.
But it's not just the wine economy that will feel the pain.
"There's a mythology about Napa, that it's all fancy wineries," Newsom said. "But underneath that there are a lot of folks here — very low income — that are going to need support."
There have been over 60 aftershocks, according to the USGS, ranging from 0.6 to 3.6 magnitude.
25 years later
The quake was the strongest to hit the Bay Area since 1989, when a 6.9-magnitude one struck during the World Series. The Loma Prieta earthquake caused 63 deaths, 3,757 injuries and an estimated $6 billion in property damage, according to the USGS.
The damage from Sunday's earthquake was relatively minor compared with the buckled highways and destroyed homes that scattered the Bay area in the aftermath of the quake 25 years ago.
The 1994 Northridge earthquake in Southern California was nearly as deadly — 60 people were killed and more than 7,000 were injured. The USGS says 20,000 people were left homeless in its aftermath.


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John Maltby – Christmas Exhibition 24 Nov - 2 Dec 2012
John Maltby is recognised worldwide as one of Britain's finest ceramic artists. Born in 1936, he studied sculpture at Leicester and Goldsmith's College, London and worked with David Leach at his pottery before establishing his own workshop in 1964.
He initially made domestic ceramics but since the mid seventies he has made only individual pieces. His work is represented in many ceramic collections including the V&A in London. We have shown his work at Godfrey & Watt for 25 years.
We are grateful to Nigel Dutt for the photograph of John at work.


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Available ebook formats: epub mobi pdf rtf lrf pdb txt html
Rachel Starr Thomson is in love with Jesus and convinced the gospel will change the world.
Rachel is a woman of many talents and even more interests: she's a writer, editor, indie publisher, singer, speaker, Bible study teacher, and world traveler. The author of the Seventh World Trilogy, The Oneness Cycle, and many other books, she also tours North America and other parts of the world as a speaker and spoken-word artist with 1:11 Ministries.
Adventures in the Kingdom launched in 2015 as a way to bring together Rachel's explorations, in fiction and nonfiction, of what it means to live all of life in the kingdom of God.
Rachel lives in the beautiful Niagara Region of southern Ontario, just down the river from the Falls. She drinks far too much coffee and tea, daydreams of visiting Florida all winter, and hikes the Bruce Trail when she gets a few minutes. A homeschool graduate from a highly creative and entrepreneurial family, she believes we'd all be much better off if we pitched our television sets out the nearest window.
Rachel began writing on scrap paper sometime around grade 1. Her stories revolved around jungle animals and sometimes pirates (they were actual rats . . . she doesn't remember if the pun was intended). Back then she also illustrated her own work, a habit she left behind with the scrap paper.
Rachel's first novel, a humorous romp called Theodore Pharris Saves the Universe, was written when she was 13, followed within a year by the more serious adventure story Reap the Whirlwind. Around that time, she had a life-changing encounter with God.
The next several years were spent getting to know God, developing a new love for the Scriptures, and discovering a passion for ministry through working with a local ministry with international reach, Sommer Haven Ranch International. Although Rachel was raised in a strong Christian home, where discipleship was as much a part of homeschooling as academics, these years were pivotal in making her faith her own.
At age 17, Rachel started writing again, this time penning the essays that became Letters to a Samuel Generation and Heart to Heart: Meeting With God in the Lord's Prayer.
In 2001, Rachel returned to fiction, writing what would become her bestselling novel and then a bestselling series–Worlds Unseen, book 1 of The Seventh World Trilogy.
A classic fantasy adventure marked by Rachel's lyrical style, Worlds Unseen encapsulates much of what makes Rachel's writing unique: fantasy settings with one foot in the real world; adventure stories that explore depths of spiritual truth; and a knack for opening readers' eyes anew to the beauty of their own world–and of themselves.
In 2003, Rachel began freelance editing, a side job that soon blossomed into a full-time career. Four years later, in 2007, she co-founded Soli Deo Gloria Ballet with Carolyn Currey, an arts ministry that in 2015 would be renamed as 1:11 Ministries. To a team of dancers and singers, Rachel brought the power of words, writing and delivering original narrations, spoken-word poetry, and songs for over a dozen productions. The team has ministered coast-to-coast in Canada as well as in the United States and internationally.
Rachel began publishing her own work under the auspices of Little Dozen Press in 2007, but it was in 2011, with the e-book revolution in full swing, that writing became a true priority again. Since that time Rachel has published many of her older never-published titles and written two new fiction series, The Oneness Cycle and The Prophet Trilogy.
Over 30 of Rachel's novels, short stories, and nonfiction works are now available in digital editions. Many are available in paperback as well, with more released regularly.
The God she fell in love with as a teenager has remained the focus of Rachel's life, work, and speaking.


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- BlemisHeal Technology™
Made in USA
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Water (Aqua), Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Butylene Glycol, Nylon 12, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Dimethicone, Cetyl PEG/PPG 10/1 Dimethicone, Boron Nitride, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Talc, PEG/PPG 18/18 Dimethicone, Sodium Chloride, Alumina, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Methoxypropylgluconamide, Panthenol, Panthenyl Ethyl Ether, Fomes Officinalis (Mushroom) Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Centaurea Cyanus Flower Extract, Spiraea Ulmaria Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Trisiloxane, Phytantriol, Tribehenin, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Silica, Methoxy Amodimethicone/Silsequioxane Copolymer, Dimethicone/Bis Isobutyl PPG 20 Crosspolymer, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Methicone, EDTA, Tetrasodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Propylparaben, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, May Contain (+/-):, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Zinc Oxide (CI 77497)
For external use only
When using this product
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Since 1931, ALMAY® has helped women look and feel their best with good-for-you cosmetics in the most flattering shimmers and shades—all the while staying true to its heritage of using pure, hypoallergenic ingredients.
It all began in 1930, when cosmetics were heavy and thick, and made with strong pigments and powerful chemicals. These cosmetics were too harsh for the complexion of Fanny May Woititz. She bestowed her husband, Alfred, also a professional chemist, to start experimenting with her makeup, testing and trying to figure out which ingredients were irritants. With dermatologist Dr. Marion Sulzberger, they devised a formula for cosmetics that was pure and gentle enough for Fanny May to use every day.
Combining the names of the founders, Alfred and Fanny May, Almay was established in 1931 and began to manufacture their new, gentler cosmetics for women everywhere.
Since then, Almay has been the first hypoallergenic cosmetics brand, the first brand to make 100% fragrance-free products and to disclose all ingredients used, the first brand to perform safety testing for allergy and irritation, the first brand to formulate for contact lens wearers and, you guessed it, the first brand to create cosmetic regimens for specific skin types.
In fact, Almay is so stringent that fewer than 500 of the 10,000 new ingredients available for use in cosmetics meet Almay's superior standards.


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I shed 40 pounds this week, and it feels great.
The weight was in the files and materials from the Ethnographic Landscape Study that I've been working on for the last three years for Martin Van Buren National Historic Site. The project is now officially finished, and the final report is printed and also posted as a PDF on the park's website. And so I was able to move the files out of my office and take them to the park for eventual accessioning in their library collection.
Even with an amazing amount of material stored on a tiny flash drive (how did we get along without those things?), there was a substantial pile of paper. That, plus the fact that we were covering anthropology's "historical turn" in my "History of Anthropological Thought" class at Tufts this week, has got me reflecting on the slow, meticulous process of doing ethnographically-oriented research that covers a long span of time.
The laborious pace of that kind of study was in sharp contrast to the let's-get-it-done-now approach of an event I attended right after my visit to the park: a Farm Hack in Ithaca, New York. Farm Hack is part of the expansive and communitarian DIY movement that's making itself felt in many communities of knowledge and practice these days--part Maker Faire, part barn-raising, part engineering design lab (but with really good food). Farm Hack is a project of the National Young Farmers Coalition, itself an outgrowth of the Greenhorns, probably the central hub of information-sharing and activism for the burgeoning young-farmer movement.
I was there as part of a nascent conversation about what's happening at the intersection of new farm activism and existing (or emergent) networks of historical collections and study. Our discussions were fascinating, wide-ranging, and sometimes frustrating, and I left feeling confirmed in my hunch that the gap between the slow-food world and the slow-knowledge realm presents an incredibly interesting tension which could be enormously creative if it can be negotiated thoughtfully. (Beginning to do so, over lunch, are, from left to right, Amy Francheschini of Future Farmers, Severine von Tscharner Fleming of the Greenhorns, Conrad Vispo of the Farmscape Ecology Program, Jeff Piestrak of Cornell University's Mann Library, and Dorn Cox of Tuckaway Farm.)
I'm planning to use my next few blog posts to reflect on all of this, starting with a more detailed piece about FarmHack in the next week or so. Following that, I'll unpack the chapters of the Martin Van Buren ELS a bit, with an eye to the over-arching question that came out of the discussions in Ithaca for me: How can public historians best make a case for the use value of careful, methodical historical knowledge-creation in dialogue with the exploding universe of the slow food and new farmers movements and the sense of urgency that's driving all of us involved in these realms? Stay tuned.


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Hello. Ever since seeing the magic worked by Mr. Craig Spegel and Mr. Hakan Pek on their handgun stocks, I've sort of kept my eyes open for new handgun grip makers.
I noticed a fellow named "Erich" on several boards with some really nice looking grips on a Makarov. It turns out that they were from Hungarian-made from a place called Marchalgrips, which appears to be run by Denes and Gustav Marschalko.
Eventually (between ammunition/reloading orders), I ordered a set for my Russian IJ-70 Makarov. These were made from checkered Bubinga wood (backstrap checkered as an option, too) and finished with the "red" stain. Total cost, including shipping was $50.00. (You can get Makarov grips for $40 in other woods; the Bubinga wood added $10.00 to the price.)
The grips slide on and off exactly like the tough plastic factory stocks.
From the bottom, it is not difficult to see that these stocks fit very snugly and evenly.
Here we can see the side of the stocks as well as the checkered rear.
I am extremely pleased with the fit, feel and finish on these grips.
For those who might be interested, the standard factory Makarov grips are thinner but not by much.
On the left we see the tough, brown plastic factory grips. These measured 1.10" across. This set of Marschalko grips measured 1.31" across at their widest point.
A grip's comfort is subjective. To me, the Marschalko grips with their palm swell are considerably more comfortable than the factory grips, which I have never found unsatisfactory. I was surprised at how much I like the checkered rear. (I guess it shouldn't have been much of a surprise as I like checkered mainspring housings on my 1911-pattern pistols.)
If you opt to order, the on-line order form will let you easily order for the E. German, Russian or Bulgarian Makarov. This differentiation is not because of different frame dimensions but because of the different diameter screw heads used in the EG guns as compared to the Bulgarian and Russian ones. The grip screw hole diameter is determined by the country of your Makarov's origin.
On the left we see the appropriate factory grip screw for the Russian/Bulgarian guns. The one on the right is for the EG. The threads are the same, however.
My grips were ordered for the Bulgarian/Russian Makarov grip screw. Fits both my Bulgarian and Russian guns just fine. By using an E. German grip screw, the grips fit perfectly on my E. German gun, too. Thus, if a fellow wants to change out grips between an E. German Makarov and say an IJ-70 or a Bulgarian, he can do so by changing to the appropriate grip screw.
As this is written, Makarov grip screws can be found here:
http://www.gunpartswarehouse.com/makarov.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I don't know how long these will last but the $5.00 price is not bad if one wants to buy one of each type grip screw.
Here are the same stocks on an E. German Mak but using the Russian grip screw. (It doesn't turn too deeply into the magazine well. Works just fine.)
I am very favorably impressed. In fact, I just paid for a couple more Makarov grips from Mr. Marschalko.
This company makes grips for several handgun makes at different price levels. They also allow for very easy checking of your order's status on-line.
I am in no way associated with this company, but definitely am a satisfied customer.
If you are interested in their products, take a gander here:
http://www.marschalgrips.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Best and good shooting.
New Grips for Makarov
Renown Browning Hi Power Expert - Stephen A. Camp. Unfortunately, Stephen passed away and he will be greatly missed.
Moderator: carlson1
2 posts • Page 1 of 1
Topic author
Re: New Grips for Makarov
Wow, nice! I might look into a set for my 1963 EG Mak. It's currently wearing Pearce grips, which are a little too "sticky" for concealing well.
2 posts • Page 1 of 1


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One of the delights of the perfect English Country pub is that it is at the heart of its community, a place where people can come together. That's why we believe it's so important for us to give something back to our local community. Below are just a couple of things we do to help out in some small way.
RNLI Water
We currently serve Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Coastal Spring still and sparkling waters and 1p will be paid in support of the RNLI for each bottle sold. Payments are made by Cornish Natural Spring Water to RNLI (Enterprises) Ltd (Which pays all its taxable profits to the RNLI, a charity registered in England & Wales (No. 209603) & in Scotland (No SC037736). Charity No. CHY 2678 in the Republic of Ireland.
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